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Jenkinson can’t wait to open season against Spurs

Carl Jenkinson is excited for the season ahead after securing a loan move to West Ham United, and is set to start the season with a bang in a London derby with Arsenal’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The Gunners right back has linked up with Sam Allardyce’s side already and looks set to take part in their preseason preparations ahead of a crucial season for the youngster.

The Essex born Gooner is eager to be involved from the get go, and licked his lips at the prospect of facing his bitter rivals Spurs on the opening day of the Premier League campaign.

He told The Hammers official website:

It’s a fantastic opener. I looked at the fixtures and I thought ‘It doesn’t get much better than that’.

Last season, West Ham had a fantastic record against them and I’m here and we have them again in a fantastic first game of the season, so hopefully we can continue that run from where it left off last season.

The 22-year-old has been heavily involved in Arsenal’s preseason friendlies so is fit and available to play for West Ham against Schalke in the Schalke 04 Cup today.

Jenkinson is looking forward to integrating into a new club and making an impression on his new boss.

He added:

I’m coming into a new club and first and foremost I want to make a good impression on the Gaffer, the players and everyone at the club.

I’ve played in two friendlies with Arsenal and I’ve got a few games to go to play my football before the season starts.

The first thing you want to do when you come into a club is to play and express yourself. We’ve got a game on Saturday, so hopefully I can get going straight away.

Jenko has developed the offensive side of his game over the past few seasons under Arsene Wenger, roaming up and down the right flank. He is hoping to continue pushing forward and create an outlet on attacks for his new team mates.

The England international is naturally excited about the prospect of playing more regularly this season and progressing his career in a fresh environment.

He continued:

I spoke to the Gaffer about how he sees me playing in this team and that was important for me because I want to be able to express myself and get up and down.

I’ve learnt to play how Arsenal play over the last three years and I am a very attacking full-back. I like to get up and down and I know I’m going to have the opportunity to do that here as well.

Fingers crossed I’ll get a few more goals this season, too.

Hopefully I can play my game here. It’s a great opportunity and I just want to come here, improve the team, express myself and play football. I’ve missed that at some stages over the last three years where I haven’t played as regularly as I’d have liked.

Hopefully it’ll be a great year for me and it’s one I’m really looking forward to.

The move will certainly do him a world of good, especially as he can remain in London and focus solely on football. Allardyce may not be the nits glamorous manager but he will certainly get the most out of his defenders.

Best of luck to Jenko on the season ahead, hope to really see him push on.